Backstory

Mychael Danna and Tim Clément met in a grade eleven, Burlington, Ontario high school chemistry class, 1973.

Distracted by each other’s passion for music, the two chemistry partners’ grades dropped from an A to a C. It was during that semester when they both realized there was only one path forward, and that was music. Mr. Cox, their chemistry teacher was not so impressed.

Over the next few years, they formed and toured Canada together in the progressive rock group “DARWIN”. It was 1976 when Tim and Mychael split off from the band and started writing atmospheric music on their own.

The quiet ambient music duo shocked the local Burlington music scene by winning the 1977 battle of the bands, up against some of the hottest rock groups in the county. One of the bands claimed the contest was rigged. “How could a couple of guys who brought candles, plants and burned incense on stage possibly win over us?” One of the judges, Liz Janek from CFNY Toronto FM said, “It wasn’t rigged. I gave Danna & Clément a 10 out of 10 because they had the most potential for a bright future in music”.

The $500. award from the contest went towards producing their first one-sided demo vinyl LP which foreshadowed their destiny by integrating natural environmental sounds from Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

In 1982, these two Canadian composers from very different musical backgrounds quietly released a self-produced album entitled A Gradual Awakening. With this release, they single-handedly created a distinctly Canadian environmental music and signature sound.

The music that followed on the albums Summerland and Another Sun expanded this tradition. These three albums were recorded at Tim’s Northern Ontario log house studio, situated on a 300-acre forest wilderness. Due to its remote location, the studio had no electricity, so Tim had to run several hundred feet of extension cords from a sound-insulated gas generator in the barn to his log house. They would also run long cables to a 60lb. Studer Revox tape recorder in order to capture many of the natural sounds from that surrounded them. The recordings were then mixed and mastered at Mychael’s studio on Toronto’s Harbourfront. These albums are now coveted as “cult classics” by electronic and ambient music aficionados worldwide.

 Tim Clément’s indigenous ancestral background from northern Québec is reflected in his numerous compositions portraying a deep connection to the land. Mychael Danna, trained as a classical musician, moved into environmental music after meeting Tim and contributed an air of formality rarely found in ambient and minimalist music. The duo has always held a strong belief that music has a profound effect on all aspects of our lives – physical, emotional and spiritual.

Both Mychael and Tim worked as staff composers for the star shows at Toronto’s McLaughlin Planetarium – Mychael from 1985-1990, and subsequently Tim from 1991-1995 when it was closed. In addition, both went into film composing. Mychael specialized in scoring feature films, while Tim primarily composed soundtracks for documentary films.

Initially released in 1995, Mychael and Tim agree that North of Niagara is their seminal work, a suite of twelve environmental music pieces inspired by locations along Ontario’s Bruce Trail.

The Bruce Trail is Canada’s oldest and longest footpath with its stunning cliffs, caves, wetlands, beaches and old-growth forests. It begins at Niagara Falls and follows the Niagara Escarpment, the edge of an ancient shallow sea, for 880 kilometres northward to Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula.

“We have spent much of our youth hiking along the Bruce Trail. It has always been a source of peace and inspiration just outside our suburban homes.”- Danna & Clément

For this 25th anniversary, 2021 re-release, North of Niagara has been impeccably remixed and remastered from the original analog reel to reel tapes. The piano parts have now been replayed on a 1983 Steinway B, even further enhancing the pastoral and ethereal nature of the music.

“Of all the music I’ve been part of over the last…well…lifetime, maybe my favourite EVER is this record.” – Mychael Danna”

“Our mastering engineer, Stephen Marsh, has done a superlative job – resulting in a beautifully warm and transparent sound. Listening with eyes closed, I could swear I am listening to vinyl. Stephen is simply the best in the business!” – Tim Clément

Mychael and Tim continue to collaborate and will soon be announcing details about their exciting new upcoming project.